Selfies vs. Shark Attacks: Which Are More Deadly for Travelers?

2015 hosted a record-setting summer of shark attacks, from the North Carolina coast to the waters of Australia. And sharks can be dangerous, even lethal. But not, it turns out, as lethal as that ubiquitous travel pastime, the selfie.

We were overrun last summer with stories of man-eating sharks. A barrage of attacks off the coast of North Carolina; a televised strike on star surfer Mick Fanning in South Africa; assaults in the waters of Australia, California, Florida, and Maui. Limbs were lost. There have been (occasional) fatalities. And as the final numbers came in, 2015 marked a record-setting year, with 98 total shark attacks around the world. The stories play to deep-seated fears, invoking, as they do, cultural touchstones like Jaws and Discovery's Shark Week that may be a symptom of those fears but, all the same, just amplify our terror.

We love to be afraid of sharks.

Believe it or not, though, shark attacks have been far less dangerous to travelers in 2015 than one tourist activity that, for most of us, hits about as far from fearsome as gummy bears.

Let's look at the numbers. Through the end of 2015, there were six confirmed shark-related deaths. In those same twelve months, the number of selfie-related deaths reached at least ten. And those are just the ones easily tracked. According to Reuters, the Russian Interior Ministry reacted to "dozens" of selfie deaths and injuries early this year with a series of (slightly bizarre — see below) warnings. The Japan Times reported in September that a Japanese tourist at the Taj Mahal passed away after falling down stairs while attempting to take a selfie. This is yet another incident of selfies proving fatal, a trend which has outpaced shark attacks in deaths for 2015. Deaths from bridge falls, hand grenade explosions, shots to the head, bison gorings — it's been enough that the European Union, in June, actually proposed the criminalization of certain types of selfies: namely, those containing landmarks like the Eiffel Tower or Rome's Trevi Fountain.

So, yes: sharks are scary. But (as some of us have been saying) the selfie stick is your real enemy. Beware.